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The Taoiseach's speech writers

The Indo today suggests that the controversy about Taoiseach Kenny's transposition of Obama's speech highlights "the 'West Wing' world of young government advisers, some of whom think the public is as attuned as they are to a virtual world of politics as seen through the US TV series."

Apparently it was written by a former journalist, Miriam O'Callaghan, and she argued that "it was such a well-known speech that everyone would recognise it and that the man who delivered it in Chicago would be standing beside Mr Kenny as he spoke."

And the Indo outlines the speech writing process:

But like all his speeches, Mr Kenny laid down the outline of what he wanted to say on Monday evening, the mood he wished to set and the message he wanted to send out.According to sources, while Ms O'Callaghan usually polishes up the final draft, others contribute to the areas where they have expertise.After the general election, Andrew McDowell, who wrote most of the Fine Gael manifesto and who has a broad knowledge of economics, moved into the Department of the Taoiseach.Mr McDowell and another young policy adviser, Paul O'Brien, who also worked for Fine Gael in opposition, contribute to any of Mr Kenny's speeches that touch on their areas of expertise.Other government departments are also asked to submit material from their specialists if a specific speech requires technical details.Chief of staff Mark Kennelly vets most of the speeches before they are delivered, but Mr Kenny has the final word on every speech.